CINCINNATI _ Christian Yelich doesn't regard himself as a power hitter. But he credits hitting coaches Barry Bonds and Frank Menechino for his uptick in home runs.
Yelich hit his 13th homer on Tuesday night, which puts him within striking distance of 20 with about a quarter of the season left. His previous season high: nine.
"It's not like I'm hitting 30 homers a year," Yelich said. "I broke double digits for the first time. So it's not like a huge difference. But it's definitely helping. I feel like I've been able to drive the ball a little more."
Yelich said he spent time in the cage with Bonds and Menechino a couple of months ago, working exclusively on generating more pop.
"We worked on some stuff in there, I liked it and got a feel for it," Yelich said. "The stance and the mechanics are the same. I've kept the same approach. It was more of a thought process that helped."
Yelich hasn't sacrificed average or on-base percentage for power, either. He brought a .316 batting average and career-high .385 on-base percentage into Thursday night. When Yelich singled on Wednesday, he extended his road streak of reaching base to 35 games in a row, a Marlins record.
Luis Castillo held the previous mark by reaching base in 33 road games in a row during the 2002 season.
